Non-compete agreements have received significant attention this year after the Federal Trade Commission issued a rule on April 23, 2024, banning most employee non-compete agreements. The rule was scheduled to go into effect on September 4, 2024. However, on August 20, 2024, a court in the United States District Court for the Northern District of…
Continue reading ›The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) rule banning most non-compete agreements continues to produce legal developments. Conflicting opinions were previously issued by a court in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and by a court in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In Ryan LLC v. FTC, Case…
Continue reading ›Developments regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) prohibition of non-compete agreements continue. Recently, a court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied a motion for preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of the ban in ATS Tree Services, LLC v. FTC, Case No. 2:24-CV-01743, 2024 WL 3511630 (E.D. Pa., July 23, 2024). This decision conflicts with…
Continue reading ›Non-compete agreements have been a standard business practice for many years. Businesses use non-compete agreements to protect their interests like proprietary business information, trade secrets, customer, goodwill, staff, and others. However, on April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) upended this long-standing business practice by issuing a rule banning most non-compete agreements. See 16…
Continue reading ›Some Florida employers and their owners or managers have been sued for alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress. The Supreme Court of Florida in Metro. Life Ins. Co. v. McCarson, 467 So.2d 277 (Fla. 1985), held that to prove intentional infliction of emotional distress, the plaintiff must prove (1) the defendant engaged in intentional or…
Continue reading ›Florida’s Whistleblower’s Act, governing private sector employers, prohibits the employer from taking “retaliatory personnel action” against an employee because the employee “[o]bjected to, or refused to participate in, any activity, policy, or practice of the employer which is in violation of a law, rule, or regulation.” Section 448.102(3), Florida Statutes. The statute defines “retaliatory personnel…
Continue reading ›Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by the Florida Civil Rights Act and under the federal civil rights law referred to as Title VII, so that an employee may assert a claim for sexual harassment under section 760.10, Florida Statutes. Although neither the Florida nor the Federal Civil Rights Acts specifically mention…
Continue reading ›Businesses sometimes suffer from disloyal employees who misappropriate trade secrets and confidential information, diverting them to competitors. Such unfair competition can be addressed through contractual claims based on non-compete agreements as well as claims for trade secret misappropriation. Because Florida’s restrictive covenant statute, Florida Statutes Section 542.335, provides strong remedies for businesses, including obtaining a…
Continue reading ›Florida law specifies, at Florida Statutes section 542.335, how and when a restrictive covenant (such as a non-compete agreement or non-solicitation agreement) may be enforced against a current or former employee. In a lawsuit to enforce an agreement that restricts or prohibits competition during or after the term of the restrictive covenants, section 542.335(1)(b) states…
Continue reading ›The State of Florida enacted Florida Statutes Section 542.335 to allow non-compete agreements where there is a “legitimate business interest.” Two frequently cited “legitimate business interests” are confidential information and trade secrets. In an employment context, a non-compete agreement based on “[v]aluable confidential business or professional information” (referenced in Florida Statutes Section 542.335(1)(b)(2)), Florida law…
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